Chapter 33
Thirty-Three
WILLOW
Igroaned, coughing as the stench of decay hit me. For a long moment, I refused to open my eyes, convinced that I was trapped in the middle of some vivid nightmare that I would wake up from any second.
Blood slid along my tongue as I bit into my bottom lip, willing myself to reappear in my nest with Kaelen curled protectively around me.
Alpha.
I gagged at the metallic scent. I wept, palming the matted hair at the base of my scalp. An insistent stabbing pain throbbed there over and over again until I opened my eyes.
Dim lights flickered overhead, barely illuminating the dark, dank room. Concrete surrounded me on every side. The threadbare blanket at the foot of the squeaky mattress fell to the floor as I tried to stand, only to collapse when my legs gave out.
Panic clawed at my insides. I wrapped my arms around my waist, hugging myself tightly, wishing it was Kaelen. I tried to sift through the fog.
The last thing I remembered was getting coffee with Torin.
I winced as my bladder twisted. My eyes widened and I glanced around my cage. This was a true cell, unlike the one I imagined when I first arrived at Kaelen’s. I wobbled to my feet, pressing my fingers into my temple as I steadied myself. I desperately needed to pee.
A massive metal door stood imposingly along the far wall. Cool steel met my hand as I spun the handle, unsurprised when it didn’t move. My head hit the sterile steel. Nausea rolled in my belly.
Kaelen would find me.
I knew it.
My alpha would come for me. He would burn the fucking world down to find me.
I needed to survive.
“Hey, I need the bathroom!” I shouted, banging hard enough to make the door shake against the concrete.
Eerie silence followed my words, and after the third time, I gave up.
In the corner, I spotted a tin pail. Sweat clung to palms as I itched the sensitive skin around my wrists. I bit my lip, walking over to the pail and reluctantly pulling down my stained leggings, finally relieving myself.
After dripping dry, I sat back on the thin mattress, snuggling the ratty blanket against my chest. My omega whined, nearly sobbing for our alpha. The lingering scent of whisky and espresso still clung to my sweater. I snuggled into the collar, seeking any semblance of comfort I could find.
My breathing started coming out faster, and I closed my eyes, laying down. I kept hoping for a distant sound to break through the suffocating silence.
Anything.
A creak.
A drip.
But nothing came.
Minutes stretched into what felt like hours.
Instead of focusing on the aching emptiness in my chest. I thought of Kaelen. My alpha. Unconsciously, my hand slid to my neck, fingers grazing the unbroken skin. I blinked away quiet tears, wishing now more than ever I had his bite.
If I did, he’d be able to find me.
A mated alpha was an unstoppable force, able to find their omega through their bond. I sniffled, wanting Kaelen’s bond more than anything. I loved him. Unequivocally. He was mine and I was his. Regret weighed heavily on me. I wished I hadn’t been so frightened.
That I had told him I loved him while I still had time.
I worried I might never get that chance now.
An unpleasant thought slithered into place.
One where I never got to tell him that. One where my husband didn’t know I loved him. One where my alpha suffered because he had lost me.
I shoved my hands into my lap, huffing.
No.
Fuck that.
I was Willow Finnegan.
The most powerful woman in Boston.
All I had to do was buy time. Kaelen would come for me.
Or maybe find a way out. I suspected they’d open that door at some point.
I dozed in and out, ignoring the hunger pangs in my stomach. A sudden, jarring sound rattled on the other side of the door. I sprang upright, splaying a hand over my sternum, trying to calm my racing heart.
The door clicked, and the metal scraped against the cinder block. I swallowed the viscous taste coating my tongue, feeling like shards of glass were poking their way down my trachea.
A figure emerged in the doorway, silhouetted against the bright lights in the hallway. My nose twitched, and I gagged, met with the distinct scent of mildew, spoiled fruit, and musty cigars. My hand flew to my mouth, afraid I might vomit.
Even in the dim light, I recognized Vittorio Rossi. My blood ran cold, freezing in my veins. He stepped into the room, sucking what little warmth remained with his presence.
A looming shadow followed behind Rossi, the man’s face obscured by shadow. My eyes scanned over their frames, looking for their weapons, not the least bit calmed by the fact I didn’t see any.
Rossi’s thin lips curled, revealing dripping canines. He silently tapped his breast pocket in an unspoken threat. His Armani suit hugged his hulking body. I crawled back onto the bed, gasping when my back hit the icy wall.
A terrifying sound echoed in the darkness, his smirk not quite reaching his eyes as he stepped closer. Every nerve ending sizzled, urging my body to run. I panicked when my mind caught up, realizing there was nowhere to go.
“Ahh. My omega is awake,” he said, his voice a silken whisper.
“I’m not your anything,” I hissed.
The meaty man beside Rossi lunged forward, his hand disappearing into his jacket when Rossi stopped him with a stiff arm to the chest.
Fiery defiance swam in my belly. An intensity that refused to be extinguished. I wouldn’t give Rossi the satisfaction of being the compliant, submissive omega he craved. I tilted my chin, glaring.
Rossi took another step closer, his man standing like a sentry by the door, completely blocking the exit, making escape impossible. The subtle scent of expensive cologne hit my nostrils, struggling to mute the man’s foul alpha stench.
His ring-clad fingers slid along the edge of the mattress as he bent over me until his face was only a few inches from mine. I sneered, gathering a bitter mouthful of saliva, spitting on his face with all the contempt I could muster.
“Bitch!” the guard bellowed.
Vittorio raised a hand, quietly commanding his man to stand down. I glowered at him, my lips narrowed as the glob of my spit slid down his cheek.
For a moment, he stared at me, letting my spit splatter onto the bed.
The silence stretched on, suffocating me until I almost forgot how to breathe. I braced myself for an explosion, for Vittorio Rossi to unleash his fury on me.
But it never came. Instead, something dangerous rumbled in his chest, a mix between a chuckle and a growl.
“Feisty,” he murmured, his eyes glittering with something unsettling. “I can see why Finnegan is so enamored with you. You are quite the prize.”
My stomach twisted, pulling taut until it was painful. I grimaced, choking down the bubbling plea for my alpha.
“I like that,” he said, flicking my spit from his face as if it were a speck of dust. “It will make breaking you that much more rewarding.”
My heart dropped into my stomach as he leaned in closer, eyeing the ring on my finger.
“That means nothing you know. It doesn’t bind you. Not truly.”
“Y-You would offend God?” I stuttered, grasping at straws, remembering how Kaelen spoke of the Italians’ beliefs.
With a dismissive wave of his hand, Rossi returned to his full height.
“He will forgive me for my sins. Besides, you’re not bonded. Finnegan hasn’t truly mated you. Married or not doesn’t matter. So that means you’re mine to claim.”
Dread spread through my limbs, leaving my fingers numb. I clasped my hands in my lap, trying to stifle the small tremor before it became noticeable. The points of his teeth dug into his lip as a chilling look settled into his features.
I wasn’t sure when my heat was due, but unless Kaelen found me before then, this man would bite me, forcing a bond into place.
Nausea rolled in my stomach, and hot acid burned in my chest.
“I have something for you,” Vittorio said, shoving a hand into his pocket and removing a dark vial swirling with liquid.
My eyes widened as my body screamed at me to run, to fight, anything. Except I couldn’t, paralyzed by fear. With a curl of his fingers, Vittorio beckoned his guard closer.
“No!”
The word tore from me, irritating my raw throat. It was a pathetic plea, barely echoing in the silence in the room. I tried to scramble away, kicking my feet, my nails clawing at the expensive shirt covering the man’s torso. I thrashed my head from side to side.
Vittorio laughed a hollow sound as his guard closed his hand around my neck, pinning me to the bed and halting my meager assault.
“Let go of me!” I shrieked, scratching hard enough to draw blood.
Ignoring my protests, the man clutched harder, cutting off my air just enough to make me panic. I gasped as he took the vial from Vittorio. His teeth bit into the cork, unstopping it before spitting it across the room.
“Be a good girl and open your mouth,” Vittorio said, his eyes glowing as he closed one hand around both my wrists.
I snapped my mouth shut, my nostrils flaring.
My gaze locked with Vittorio’s, and his bright yellow teeth gleamed at me as his dirty nails bit into the sensitive skin around my wrists.
His guard brought the vial close to my face, and a foul smell wafted from it.
I closed my eyes, internally chanting for my alpha, praying Kaelen would burst into the room any second.
But we were out of time, and I couldn’t overpower the two alphas restraining me.
“Something to get my omega ready for me,” Vittorio cooed, the dark promise gnarling around me like rotting ivy.
The hand holding me moved, and Vittorio’s guard tilted my head back, forcing my mouth open until I thought he might snap my face in two.
Searing hot liquid poured down my throat, burning like molten tar. I gagged violently, my body revolting against the foreign substance. I protested as my limbs trembled and my body bucked.
The man snapped my mouth shut, pinching my nose, ensuring I swallowed every drop and that it stayed down. Vittorio’s guard finally released me, returning to his sentry post by the exit.
I coughed, the strength of them shaking me with each one. I bent over, resting my elbows on my thighs and dry heaving.
Hard stone dug into my knees as I collapsed onto the floor, wanting to vomit, but unable to. A too-familiar need started to spread through my body, coursing through my veins like wildfire.
No. No. No.
It couldn’t be.
That was impossible.
My vision swam, everything in the room blurring. A pain thrummed behind my eye, and my head spun. My hands clutched my stomach as an involuntary, needy whine stung my raw throat. I bawled, my body betraying me as it succumbed to the insidious symptoms of my heat.
Vittorio stepped closer, his shadow falling over me.
“There now,” he said, his voice unnervingly gentle as he brushed his fingers through my hair and over my back. “That wasn’t so bad, was it? I can make you feel go—”
“Fuck you,” I snapped, not wanting him to finish that disgusting sentence.
He crouched beside me, too gently cradling my face in his hand. I resisted the urge to spit on him again, a heavy heat weighing me down and making me want to sleep.
“Don’t worry. Soon, I will, Omega. I’ll claim your tight little cunt and make you mine permanently.”
My stomach rolled.
A flurry of curses died on my lips as the two men left, locking the metal door behind them with an ominous click.
My back hit the bed as I fell onto my ass, my head falling back on the mattress. I wrapped my arms around my waist, imagining Kaelen’s thick arms holding me. Protecting me.
I closed my eyes, calling forward memories of his scent.
“Alpha,” I breathed, afraid I’d never see him again. “Please. Please help me. Don’t let them hurt me. I want you. Only you. I love you.”
Hot tears slid down my cheeks as I curled in a small ball on the bed, wishing I had told Kaelen sooner. Told him how much I loved him, how much I needed him. I had no idea how long before my heat consumed me.
Based on the slick ruining my panties, and the burn in my belly, not long.
Soon, Vittorio Rossi would bite me, mating me to him for life.